Fast Company Announces 2010 Ranking Of World's Most Innovative Companies

First Solar, Novartis, HP among the companies honored in the March 2010 issue and at FastCompany.com.

New York, February 18, 2010 — Fast Company's annual Most Innovative Companies issue honors major brands including Cisco, Disney, and GE along with such rising newcomers as Spotify, Gilt Groupe, HTC, and the Indian Premier League. Facebook leads the annual ranking of the Top 50, after growing its user-base from 150 million to 350 million in just one year.

Overall, Fast Company recognized 250 plus companies, including more than 75 non-U.S. businesses. Five of the Top 50 are based in China: Huawei (No. 5), BYD (No. 16), Alibaba (No. 29), HTC (No. 31), and Huayi Brothers (No. 42).

In addition to the Top 50, Fast Company cited 59 Innovation All-stars, culled from past Top 50 honorees, plus ranked the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in 24 categories, including advertising and marketing, biotech, film and TV, media, music, and sports.

To create this year's Most Innovative Companies issue, Fast Company's editorial team analyzed information on thousands of businesses across the globe. The result is a package unlike that of any other business media. It's not just about revenue growth and profit margins; it's about identifying creative models and progressive cultures - to define the many forms of innovation that exist across the business landscape.

"It was invigorating to engage with so many exciting new ideas and developments," said Fast Company editor Robert Safian. "Our goal was to offer a snapshot of the creativity at work in the global marketplace, and to inspire the Fast Company audience with illustrations of how powerful and effective business can be."

"There are a lot of amazing technology companies out there so we're honored to be #1 on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list," said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering at Facebook. "It is awesome to see the Facebook technology team recognized. We pride ourselves on moving fast to introduce new technologies and products that can enhance the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide."

Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March 2010) is on newsstands now, and is online at www.fastcompany.com/MIC.

Highlights of the issue: March 2010

SPECIAL REPORT: The Most Innovative Companies 2010
From the Top 50 to Top 10s in 24 categories, Fast Company identifies 218 companies across the economy and around the globe-including 64 headquartered outside the U.S.-that define business innovation for 2010.

The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, page 52
Five unheralded businesses in China. A breakthrough solar-power provider. A billion-dollar cricket league in India. These unexpected players-plus the U.S. Defense Department's secretive IT think tank, the queen of women's online media, and the European iTunes killer-join big dogs from Silicon Valley to Madison Avenue on our annual list of the world's 50 Most Innovative Companies. Featuring:

Why Facebook Is No. 1, page 54, by Ellen McGirt

Amazon vs. Apple vs. Google, page 60
Techland's titans are competing fiercely across multiple fronts: gadgets, mobile, the Web, music, video, and books. We stack them up, side by side by side.

The Parallel Lives of Hulu and Netflix, page 68
These Hollywood disruptors share similar story arcs and a common enemy (YouTube). So who has the edge?

The Top 10 by Industry, page 102
Let's get down to apples to apples. We rank the 10 best and brightest across 24 categories, from advertising to sports, food to tech.

How RealD and Rainbow Media are reshaping TV and film

How Sermo is rallying doctors to challenge the American Medical Association

Why MLB Advanced Media is the most creative digital shop you never heard of

How Firstborn, Mr Youth, and Potion are remaking advertising

What innovations Dyson offers in retail, Ford in mobile, and Nestlé in food
And much more . . . .

PLUS: BONUS COVERAGE

Tenth Anniversary of the Nasdaq Peaking at 5,048.62, by Anne C. Lee, page 26
We've come a long way since tech stocks rose to an all-time high a decade ago: 1.7 billion Internet users now versus 360 million then. Or not. Bill Gates is still the world's richest person. What else has and hasn't changed?

Made to Stick column: The Telltale Brown M&M, by Dan Heath and Chip Heath, page 36
Eighth graders, Google, and Van Halen help you spot the red flags for big problems.

Numerology: Field of Beams, by Erica Westly, page 116
Light sabers! Laser printing! Fiber-optic cables! In the 50 years since the first U.S. patent for the laser was awarded, the fruits have been many. Not all would ripen, though (see LaserDiscs).

For more of the March 2010 issue of Fast Company, please visit www.fastcompany.com beginning February 18.

About Fast Company
Fast Company is an award-winning monthly magazine, Web site, and digital distribution platform that covers the business of innovation like no other media source. Editor Robert Safian was named AdWeek's Editor of the Year in 2009. FastCompany.com, under the auspices of executive editor Noah Robischon and publisher Christine Osekoski, has tripled traffic and revenue year over year. Fast Company is owned by Joe Mansueto, founder and owner of Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research.